Koch wins ASA’s Peace Award for outstanding contributions
Aug. 3, 2014
Gary G. Koch, PhD, professor of biostatistics at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, has been named recipient of the American Statistical Society’s 2014 Karl E. Peace Award for Outstanding Statistical Contributions for the Betterment of Society.
First presented in 2012, the Peace Award recognizes statisticians who have made substantial contributions to the statistical profession and to society in general. The award was established by Christopher K. Peace, son of Karl Peace, to honor his father’s life and work.
Dr. Gary Koch (Photo by Tom Fuldner)
Koch, who has served on the UNC public health school faculty since 1967, directs the biostatistics department’s Biometric Consulting Laboratory, which he established with Dennis Gillings in 1980. He has received the Gillings School’s top awards for teaching and mentoring, including the McGavran Award for Excellence in Teaching (1992), the John E. Larsh Jr. Award for Mentorship (2007), and the Greenberg Alumni Endowment Award (2012).
“I cannot think of a more appropriate recipient of the Karl Peace award than Gary Koch,” said Koch’s colleague John Preisser, PhD, research professor of biostatistics at the Gillings School. “The Department of Biostatistics, the Gillings School and its alumni around the globe, as well as Koch’s many admirers, colleagues and former students, are delighted that this award recognizes the far-reaching influence of his work on improving human welfare.”
Preisser co-authored a 2011 biography of Koch in the Journal of Statistics in Biopharmaceutical Research and managed the production of a video conversation with Koch, available on YouTube.
Koch will accept the award at the 2014 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) conference, to be held Aug. 2-7, in Boston.
JSM is the largest gathering of statisticians held in North America. Attended by more than 6,000 people, it is the joint conference of the American Statistical Association, International Biometric Society, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, International Chinese Statistical Association, International Indian Statistical Association, International Society for Bayesian Analysis, Korean International Statistical Society, Royal Statistical Society and Statistical Society of Canada.
Previous awardees are Richard Macey Simon, of the National Cancer Institute (2013) and Fritz Scheuren, of the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC), and Marvin Zelen, of Harvard University and the Frontier Science Foundation (2012).
Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu.
